Field horse or franchise on the rise? Dave EminianSportsTuesday, March 18, 2008

There are dark clouds hovering over the Peoria Rivermen playoff picture these days.But one of the silver linings to the 2007-08 season has been rookie center-left wing Julian Talbot, who has notched 20 goals and emerged as a real NHL prospect.

Talbot came to training camp as a long shot amid one of the deepest, and most talented forward groups Peoria has ever had. He was projected to spend the season at ECHL Alaska.

Instead, he is one of the top three or four rookies in the AHL.

And the parent club St. Louis Blues are going to reward him, very soon, with a two-year NHL contract. His signing is imminent, likely before the team plays again Friday.

Talbot has worked his way up the depth chart past veterans like Mike Glumac, Martin Kariya and Charles Linglet, and if he progresses next fall he could get a shot with the Blues.

glen a richter wrote:I should know this but I don't.... how did the Blues come about getting Talbot? I read somewhere he was an undrafted FA, same deal as Wagner.

Ture or flase?

His big bro was recruited by Davis Payne and played for Alaska for a few years (left this year to play in England). Julian came to play in Alaska last year to play with Joe, his brother, and got a tryout with Peoria based on that I would assume. Linglet was another Payne recruited standout for Alaska.

PEORIA - JulianTalbot was supposed to be a call-up for the Peoria Rivermen this season, a fill-in center for an AHL powerhouse loaded with experience and skill at forward.

Then the parent club St. Louis Blues made him a call - literally - phoning him 24 hours before the annual Prospects Tournament at Traverse City, Mich., to invite him to that event.

Sitting in Wahnapitae, Ontario - on the eastern edges of Sudbury, where the youngest of four Talbot boys grew up skating on his family's outdoor rink - he quickly accepted the invitation delivered for the Blues by ECHL Alaska coach Keith McCambridge.

"I was just waiting for the Rivermen camp, had nothing else to do," the 5-foot-11, 180-pound Talbot said. "I looked at St. Louis' roster and Peoria's likely roster and knew it would be a battle to even get on the Rivermen team."

The undrafted 22-year-old played well at Traverse City. The Blues invited him to their main NHL camp. He played well there, too, and was sent down to Peoria. He stood out in the Rivermen AHL camp, and has gained a foothold here.

Time will tell...that's for sure. I can see him coming in to camp this fall ready to prove that the Blues didnt make a mistake. Look for him to be one of the last cuts going to Peoria. Might even get a few games in at the start of the season in StLouis. Good luck to him...but wouldnt mind him having another year like the one he has had in Peoria.